I never thought the day would come … the day that I realize that suddenly I am not as imaginative as I was before.

I was playing with my niece and nephew as usual (more like my nephew was chilling actually). As we were playing in her “play pen” and as she took out her animal toys one by one while repeating what they were to me with her …. wonderful pronunciation, I suddenly remembered the days that I used to play with the simplest things as erasers with faces drawn on them to legos, little plastic teddy bears that I so originally called Beary, to boxes that I decorated and cut out to form houses since I did not have a doll house. I would spend hours playing with them by giving them a history, a character, a voice … these hours included alone in my home on the shelves in my closet to the inside of my school desk with my friends.

I remember when I could easily give voices to anything alive or not and amuse my friends with my impersonations (which I still sometimes do).

I remember that I could be amused even by giving my hands a voice while I took a bath as I did not have a rubber ducky.

I used to crawl around on all fours and pretend to be a cat or a dog or even one time Smeagol from the Lord of the Rings.

Adding on to crawling around, I would pretend that I was Snohtail (a name I gave myself as I pretended to be a cat from the Warriors) and I would crawl around with my stuffed animals and another friend of mine as we pretended that different sections of our neighborhood were different territories for various cat clans. Adding on to that, I could tell stories to myself of the bravery of various warriors and such as I took walks around alone in my own thoughts.

I remember all this and then feel sad that I cannot do it anymore or at least to the same level to where I am amused…

But I want my niece and nephew to have that kind of imagination and to really enjoy their childhood. And so, I gave it a shot. I began to give random animals a different voice: one with a British accent, one with an Irish one, one with a high voice, and one with a low one. I plopped them around the toy boat and she began giggling and laughing with that beautiful smile of hers.

I took the two bagels and put them to my eyes and looked through each bagel hole (eye holes) and then held them to her face to show her what she could do with them. She looked through them too like they were glasses and began laughing once again. I put them to my face again and then to my nephew’s and she giggled saying his name “Caleb! Caleb!”

And then she took the manatee and began to do what I had done just a few moments before: have it “swim” around while singing a theme song in the background and then plop it into the boat…

I just suddenly had this thought of not wanting my niece to become brainwashed by the technology these days. I didn’t want her to solely rely on the television and iPad games for entertainment. I want her to continue to read and to play with the countless amount of toys that she is blessed with.

This is why no matter how fussy she is, I make sure to not resort to giving her the iPad or turning on the television.

Imagination is something that is so important that keeps something alive in us. It keeps us young…it is our inner child, our inner creativity crying to come out and show something to the world…to us. It keeps our minds working and keeps a part of us happy.

Without imagination, we become almost…mechanical like robots … we lose our individuality, our creativity …

I pray that I will continue to be able to keep my imagination alive even if it is not as strong as before.

I pray that my niece and nephew and the future generations will be able to not succumb to technology, but be able to enjoy the traditional toys and such as well and that they will be able to communicate and still play with one another not through the means of games or electronics, but through things such as the playground, dolls, books, and more…

–Snoh

Proverbs 4:23 – “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.”

Disclaimer: So, since I will be camping this weekend, I won’t be able to upload; however, I already did days 1-4 because I started this a while back. Sooo, I am not cheating >< But, I digress.

I had been questioning honestly whether or not I even have a purpose here and I felt like I was a waste. I felt like I don’t really make an impact on this earth and that I’m wasting the food, water, and air that is provided by the Lord…Thank goodness for coming across this book and just talking to people in general to help me come to my senses.

Isaiah 44:2a – I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.

And after a while, I realized that at least I am needed in the sense that I take care of my niece and nephew….

BUT OF COURSE I JUST HAVE TO JINX IT AND ALEXIS STARTS ACTING UP

AND THEN I JINX IT AGAIN AND CALEB ACTS UP TOO!!! 😡 THIS IS PROOF YOU KIDS! YOU KIDS OWE ME MASSAGES, WRINKLE CREAM, and LOTS OF HUGS AND KISSES!
🙂

To end it on a light note though:You kids are still rays of sunshine in my life and without you guys, I’d feel more lost than I already do…will miss you both when I’m in Italy…

-SnohEcclesiastes 11:7 – Sunshine is sweet; it is good to see the light of day.Shields of Strength